


The Little Mermaid: Don't give yourself away

by staringatastar



Category: The Little Mermaid - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Fairy Tale Retellings, Revisionist Fairy Tale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-10
Updated: 2019-01-10
Packaged: 2019-10-07 12:44:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17366078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/staringatastar/pseuds/staringatastar
Summary: A re-telling of The Little Mermaid with an bittersweet twist:-----------Ariel had always wanted a little more freedom than what she had, a little more adventure, a little more of a rush. That’s why when she saw ominous clouds and a floundering human ship, she didn’t see anything more than a perfect chance to investigate the world of humans without repercussion. Steal a taste of something thrillingly forbidden.





	The Little Mermaid: Don't give yourself away

Ariel had always wanted a little more freedom than what she had, a little more adventure, a little more of a rush. That’s why when she saw ominous clouds and a floundering human ship, she didn’t see anything more than a perfect chance to investigate the world of humans without repercussion. Steal a taste of something thrillingly forbidden.

She didn’t account for the startling beautiful man floundering on board, desperate to save the ship. His features were so perfect they looked almost unreal -- dark hair that billowed as if submerged in water, sharp features that hinted at confidence, and a body that screamed strength. One look only made her want another glance, until she found herself swimming alongside him as he sank through the ocean. It wasn’t until they were past the reach of the sky’s light that she realized she should probably try and save the damn man. She dragged him through the water to the nearest beach, gave him one last look, and couldn’t get his face out of her mind for the rest of the week.

By week’s end, she was desperate for another glance, but there was no chance the man would come back to the sea so soon after his accident. She found her godmother and begged to use her treasured pearl ball that the merpeople used to glimpse into the human world. She gazed into the ball in order to trace the man’s passage through the world. She learned so much about him by following his steps with the ball. He was popular. And athletic. And fun. And oh so rich.

“This isn’t love Ariel,” her godmother warned her. “It’s more like an obsession. An unhealthy one at that.”

Ariel couldn’t believe that something so all-consuming could be anything other than true love. She pined and pouted until her godmother relented and allowed her another glance. Then another. Until finally, glances weren’t enough. She’d already traced the arches of his cheeks and the flow of his hair a thousand times through the pearl. She wanted to touch them with more than her eyes.

She worked on her godmother with more patience than she realized she had. She pleaded her case, her need for adventure, her need for something different, her need for that man.

Her godmother sighed. “There’s a way to go onto land, but you have to give up so much. No children for the rest of your life. Nobody who truly knows who you are. And you only have a couple days to create a human connection on land. If that connection is ever broken, you’ll disappear into sea foam.”

Ariel didn’t care. She wanted more than what the ocean could offer -- she wanted her perfect man.

Her godmother took out her treasured scissors, the ones that sat hidden behind a wall of quartz; then swam with Ariel to the turbulent border between sea and land. As Ariel leaned against the beach, her godmother carefully snipped away the scales covering Ariel’s fins, revealing a raw layer of pink skin. Giving Ariel one last look, Ariel’s godmother cut through her fin until two bloody legs emerged. The pain consumed Ariel, she couldn’t find the breath to scream with the agony that suddenly filled her body.

The last thing Ariel heard before she fainted from the pain was her godmother’s sad whisper, “I hope this life turns out to be everything you imagined.”

Ariel awoke to the sunlight gleaming on glistening sand. She thrilled at the knowledge that she was finally free of the shackles of the ocean. The first thing she did was wash the blood away; but the second thing she did was leap and twirl herself breathless through the sand, in a graceful imitation of the man on his floundering ship.

She knew where the man lived, and knew her own beauty. She practically flew on her new legs to his mansion, swirling past butlers that were rendered speechless by the spectacle, and footmen that tried belatedly to corral her back onto the streets. She knew where she was going and flew to the man of her dreams.

In front of him, she finally ran her fingers through his hair, traced his cheeks, and press her palms against his chest.

Bemused, he asked, “What’s your name?”

It wasn’t until then Ariel realized they didn’t speak the same language. “Hello man,” she said weakly in her own language.

“Ah, you must be a lost foreigner. Tell me, where are you from? How can I help you get back?”

Ariel laughed helplessly. So this was her dream man, trapped behind a language she had no idea how to decipher. She used motions and signs to try and communicate to the puzzled man, until he finally understood all he needed to know.

“Ah….” he smiled, “you would like to get to know me better?”

That day was the most beautiful day Ariel could have possibly imagined. She spent the whole night feeling beautiful in the man’s arms; it hurt yet felt wonderful at the same time. They didn’t need language when they had the common expressions of love.

The next day, the man showered her with new clothes, jewelry, servants. Everything that he could possibly give the love of his heart. He soon discovered that even better, unlike with most women, he never had to worry about the nuisance of a newborn child with Ariel. Their nights were filled with tenderness outlined in frantic passion. Their days were filled with silly laughter over disjointed remarks. There was no argument since neither side could understand the other; how could they get angry when they could simply fabricate the most conciliatory speech to any disgruntled thought? 

Yet both sides could get bored. Even with a woman as beautiful as Ariel, or a man as handsome as the man she’d chosen.

Soon, Ariel found herself gazing longingly at the sea, thinking about talking to people who she could speak to and truly be heard by. She thought about dancing through the sand and flying through streets with no one to hold her back. She itched for the freedom of the water, or perhaps just the privilege of living on her own.

The man looked out the window and saw someone younger and more beautiful. Ariel noticed the direction of his gaze and realized that she felt barely anything at all.

She walked back out to the sea, wiggling her feet into the sand and salt water. The sunset slowly sinking beneath the waves turned her feet into a vivid imitation of the bloody strips they had been when her godmother first liberated them from her fins.

Ariel found herself longing for a little more freedom than what she had, a little more adventure, a little more of a rush. To be foam swept along the sea suddenly sounded like it could be the beginnings of something gloriously thrilling.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to suggest edits or areas you'd like additional details!
> 
> Sorry it isn't a typical happy ending, but I like to think that Ariel still has a happy life living it to the fullest and taking pleasure in whatever she does.


End file.
